“Really sure?” he rumbled in her ear.
“Really sure,” she responded, but it came out on a sigh.
He smoothed her hair back from her temple and placed a kiss there. “Because it won’t change a thing.”
“I know,” she agreed. They couldn’t undo the day. And she couldn’t undo her feelings. Alex had been a magical lover-funny, patient and gentle. She never would have imagined it of him.
But the day was over. She had a life to go back to, and that life included her family, traditions, responsibilities and Harrison.
“I’m not asking you to make love again,” Alex told her, releasing her and gently turning her to face him. He placed his hands on her shoulders, and there was something vulnerably earnest in his expression. “I only want you to sleep in my arms.”
Emotion tightened her chest, and she fought it with all her might.
“He gets you forever,” Alex whispered. “Give me this one night.”
Brittany’s heart all but melted.
She gave in and nodded.
Then she nodded harder, wanting it every bit as much as he did.
He scooped her into his arms and crossed to the bed.
He laid her down, then climbed in beside her, sliding her, spoon style, against the warmth of his body.
They lay there quietly for a few minutes. She forced herself to stay in the moment. There was no yesterday, no tomorrow, just now and Alex, the hum of the ceiling fan and the softness of the bed that cocooned them in a fantasy.
“Finish your story?” she asked him.
“The lawn mower,” he said, picking up where he’d left off. “In my dad’s garage. If we wanted to win the go- kart race, my older brother, Jacob, and I needed four wheels and an internal combustion engine.”
“You turned your father’s lawn mower into a go-kart?”
“Not exactly.”
Brittany breathed a little sigh of relief. The worst she’d done as a child was steal the foil-and-chocolate decorations from the Christmas tree.
“We built a wood and scrap-metal frame, bolted on the wheels and connected a belt drive to the lawn mower engine. I thought it was fine, but Jacob insisted we needed more torque if we were going to beat those Brubaker boys.”
“What’s torque?”
“Power. So we disassembled the rototiller. Man, that did the trick. That puppy was fast.”
“Weren’t you scared of your parents?”
He rested his chin against the top of her head. “We had it all planned. Dad mowed the lawns on Sunday. We’d race Saturday morning, reassemble everything that afternoon, and nobody’d be any the wiser.”
“Did it work?”
Alex chuckled. “Does it sound to you like it would work?”
“How would I know? Forget about torque, I’ve never seen a rototiller.”
“It didn’t work,” said Alex.
Even though it was years in the past, Brittany felt her stomach tense with nervous anticipation.
“The good news is, we won the trophy. Got that baby up to fifteen miles an hour.”
She couldn’t help but grin at the pride that was evident in his voice all these years later. “And the bad news?”
“By ten o’clock on Saturday night, we realized we’d misplaced a few of the lawn mower and rototiller parts. My mom realized we weren’t in bed. And my dad realized he needed to teach us a lesson.”
Brittany cringed. “Ouch.”
“Ouch is right. But it was still worth it. We were boys. We accepted spankings as the cost of having fun. Besides, the go-kart was nothing compared to our next project.”
“I’m afraid to ask.”
“We decided to try parachuting off the roof.”
“Did your parents by any chance
“They thought it would improve my moral fiber.”
“And did it?”
“Not really, but it was a whole lot of fun.”
“Fun?” Brittany had seen enough movies to know the military wasn’t fun.
“Basic training was a piece of cake. There wasn’t anything a drill sergeant could do or say that my dad and older brother hadn’t been doing my entire life. And, after we got through basic, they let us blow things up, run obstacle courses and learn to use high-tech equipment. I thought I’d died and gone to adventure camp.”
Brittany found herself smiling. “I am so glad I’m not having your children.”
He went silent, and she immediately cringed.
Then she flipped onto her back to look up at him. “That was thoughtless. I’m sorry.”
He brushed a lock of hair from her face, his expression teasing rather than hurt. “I have a feeling you’d balance me out, Miss Pure-As-The-Driven-Snow.”
“Not anymore,” she reminded him, the memory suddenly blooming in her brain.
“No,” he agreed, his smile disappearing. “Not anymore.”
She was overcome with the desire to kiss him.
He obviously saw it in her eyes, because he leaned down, and his lips softly met her own, sweet, tender, so full of life and excitement.
Just here and now, she told herself. That was all they’d ever have.
Chapter Fourteen
“This is our last night together,” said Harrison as he pushed the bedroom door shut.
An hour had gone by since they’d separated, and Julia’s heart gave a little hitch at the sight of him.
“It’s also our wedding night,” he continued, starting across the floor to where she was curled up in an armchair.
He came to a halt directly in front of her. “What do you suppose the odds are I’m staying out of your bed?”
Julia had finished reporting in to Melanie, so she set the cordless phone down on the end table.
“Slim?” she offered, as his gaze swept the simple gauzy, white dress she’d slipped on after her bath.
“Nil,” he responded, his attention returning to her face.
“Nil,” she agreed with a nod.
They might as well make the inevitable decision up front. Real life might start again tomorrow, but tonight was theirs if they wanted it.
He reached for her hands and drew them up to the light, turning them over to inspect the palms. “If they did this right, my initials are somewhere in here. Tradition says that I’m not allowed to make love with you until I find them in the pattern.”
“What if Rania and her mother did it wrong?”
His twinkling gaze met hers. “Then it’s going to be a very, very long night.”
She wiggled her feet out to where he could see them. “There’s more down there.”
“Not a problem. I’m a patient man.”
She couldn’t resist. “That really hasn’t been my experience so far.”
“Are you tossing out a dare?” he asked, with a teasing touch of incredulity.
She gave a little shrug. “Why not?”
His smile broadened, and he turned her hands to inspect the backs.
“Is it like a bridal shower?” she asked, remembering the surreal experience. “Rania and Habeeba talked at me the entire time. They had to know I didn’t understand a word.”
